Officers
received a call to respond to a suicidal individual. Cpl. Brad Doerger,
Officer Abby Ballman and Officer Michael Gerde responded and found a man
approximately 40 feet up in a tree. Officers observed him standing on a
branch, no shirt, and a sweatshirt tied around a branch. He would not
respond to officers’ commands. They observed him putting his head through
the sweatshirt, stepping off the branch and beginning to hang.

Officers
acted quickly, placing themselves in peril. Cpl. Doerger pushed Officer
Ballman up the tree (to reach the first branch). She began to climb the
40 feet. Officer Gerde pushed Cpl. Doerger up to the branch. Cpl.
Doerger began to climb the 40 feet. Officer Gerde assisted with getting both
officers up in the tree and then coordinated the efforts on the ground
(summoning EMS and getting a ladder).

Officer
Ballman eventually reached the individual and began untying the noose he had
created. The individual was not assisting in getting the noose off his
neck. As Officer Ballman removed the noose, he began to fall. Cpl.
Doerger was up far enough to catch his legs and hold him up. Both Officer
Ballman and Cpl. Doerger were able to hold the individual up for about 15–20
minutes, until a ladder could be put into place. With the assistance of
the Delhi Fire Department the individual was lowered to the ground. The
individual was transported to a local hospital and released unharmed.